David Jason - Biography - IMDb David Jason Biography Showing all 601 items Jump to: Overview (3) | Mini Bio (1) | Spouse (1) | Trivia (140) | Personal Quotes (454) | Salary (2) Overview (3) 5' 6" (1.68 m) Mini Bio (1) Sir David Jason was born in Edmonton, London, in 1940. He has become one of Britain's most famous and respected actors. He is a versatile actor who is most famously known for his role in Only Fools and Horses.... (1981) as Del Boy. He made his debut as DelBoy back in 1981 and was still playing the same role up to the Christmas special in 2002. His big break came in the 1967 children's comedy show Do Not Adjust Your Set (1967) starring alongside members of the Monty Python team: Terry Jones ; Eric Idle , and Michael Palin .

Sadly, in 1990, he spent time away from work to nurse Myfanwy Talog , the Welsh actress who was his long time partner, before she died of cancer at the age of 49. He has come a long way from his days as an electrician and has won numerous awards for his work. He has managed to combine the comedy aspect of his career with rather more serious roles, such as that of Jack Frost in the highly-rated detective Series A Touch of Frost (1992) and has proved that he is a man of many talents. In the mid 1970s, he was convincingly made up as Blanco, an elderly prisoner, in episodes of Porridge (1974) with Ronnie Barker . He has also done voice work in children's TV. He has not really concentrated on films, although he was very impressive in the TV film, All the King's Men (1999) in 1999, playing Frank Beck, the Commander of the Sandringham Company who mysteriously disappeared whilst in action in The Great War campaign in Gallipoli in 1915.

He lives in Buckinghamshire with his wife, Gill Hinchcliffe and their daughter, Sophie Mae, who was born in 2001. His hobbies are a little DIY and gardening. - IMDb Mini Biography By: Hasselbaink007 Spouse (1) ( 30 November 2005 - present) (1 child) Trivia (140) Younger brother of actor Arthur White , who appears in many episodes of A Touch of Frost (1992) with him. Became a father for the 1st time at age 61 when his partner Gill Hinchcliffe gave birth to their daughter Sophie Mae White on 26 February 2001. Worked as a self-employed electrician before becoming an actor, initially in the theatre and later moving to television. Did not find out until age 14 that he had a twin brother who had died at birth. He was considered for the role of Corporal Jones in the BBC series Dad's Army (1968), which eventually went to Clive Dunn . Received two awards at the British Television Awards. He got the awards for "Britain's Best Actor" and "Britain's Best Comedy Actor".

After discovering that there was already a "David White" registered with Equity, he took the name "David Jason". It has long and popularly been rumoured that the name "Jason" came from his twin brother who had died in infancy. This is incorrect. His twin brother died without being named, and he chose "David Jason" as his stage name from his favourite book at school Jason and the Argonauts (1963). Knighted in the Queen Elizabeth II 's Birthday Honours. He collected the award from Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace on 1 December 2005, having secretly married his long-term partner Gill Hinchcliffe at the Dorchester Hotel in London the day before. [2005] He was awarded an O.B.E. (Officer of the Order of British Empire) for his services to drama. Bob Monkhouse was enthusiastic about David Jason's comic potential and attempted to put together a pilot film for him called "Jason" in the late 1960s-early 1970s. A qualified dive master, he was taught to dive in the Cayman Islands. Appeared in juvenile court at the age of 14 for stealing lead.

Ironically, in the Season 1 finale of Only Fools and Horses.... (1981), Del Boy steals three tons of lead, but for use as a fallout shelter. He then appeared in court when he was 18 for riding a motorbike without L-plates; he was fined 10 shillings. Has worked as a teaboy and a grease monkey in a garage. He lost his enthusiasm for being a mechanic when during Winter, the cold always found its way up his overalls while under a car; his parents were very disappointed. His first acting role was as a monkey in a primary school play at the age of 9, but his first lead role was in a Cromwellian play, Wayside War as a 17th Century Cavalier at the age of 14. He was forced to volunteer by the headmaster and wound up enjoying it. He then joined amateur theatre not long after and left it at the age of 25 - he joined just to pick up girls. The name of the acting troupe was "The Incognito Players", and he went on to be the most successful member; he was later asked to be a patron, which he accepted.

Didn't watch television until the age of 13, when he saw the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II , she later knighted Jason. His family didn't hire a television until he was age 15, when ITV was first launched. Attended Northside Junior School and than Northside Secondary Modern. He left school at the age of 15 to pursue acting. Lots of his childhood clothes were hand-me-downs. Penned his autobiography, My Life in 2013. During World War II, a human arm landed on the roof of his childhood home; the family thought it was a chicken that would feed them for two meals. Started smoking at the age of 14. The first review of his work was "David White looked like a young James Cagney and played, though only 16, with the ease of a born actor". He still remembers it but thought it unlikely. Born five months after the outbreak of World War II, he spent his infancy in war-torn North London, and lived at 26 Lodge Lane, Finchley. He was delivered at North Middlesex County Hospital. His childhood home is now a car park.

When he was 14, he worked as a grocery delivery boy at the local supermarket for almost no pay where he learned to ride a delivery bike. He always liked to ride a bike to work and home because it kept him at 8 stone and a 29 inch waist. Although mostly known as a comic actor, this was not so at the beginning of his career. While in amateur theatre, he appeared in a production of "The Glass Menagerie" by Tennessee Williams , and played one of Noah's sons, Ham ("the bad 'un"). A big fan of Ron Moody . Once played a raven on stage and prepared for the role by studying raven behavior at the Tower of London. In the Season 6 premiere episode of Only Fools and Horses.... (1981), Del Boy mentions how he once had a job at the Tower of London. Co-founded Topaz Productions in the late 1980s. A big fan of Ruth Madoc . His first experience of playing in the West End was as a pirate in a production of Peter Pan at the Strand; it was also his first experience of touring the country. Learned to dive at the age of 18.

He went out with Phil Collins ' sister when they were still unknowns. The first rock concert Jason went to was Genesis with Collins on drums and Peter Gabriel on vocals at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, in 1974. He first appeared on television in a BBC pantomime, Mother Goose (1965) on Boxing Day. Although against illicit substances, he did smoke a joint for the first time when he was 40; it was his only one. Was given advice by Jon Pertwee when first starting his acting career. A mystic in the late 60s predicted he had a big future as an actor. Turned down for the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) when he was 27. Has had a few brushes with death throughout his life, e.g. electrocution; drowning, etc. One of the top leading men on British television, despite his diminutive stature. Didn't do any televised drama until he was 26, when he had a recurring role on Crossroads (1964). Although the show has a bad reputation, he's defended it.

After doing a guest spot, he was asked to become a regular but he declined because he didn't want to be tied down to playing just one character at this stage in his career. His first public appearance with his changed name was on May 24th, 1965. Quite timid as a boy. His family as a young man had Christmas chicken instead of turkey because it was cheaper. Worked as an electrician, which involved licking a finger and poking live circuitry to see how much of a shock you got. He considered a career as an electrician but then went to drama school at the age of 24. When acting dried up in the early years of his career, he went back to work as an electrician. Didn't get an agent until his mid-20s. Decided to make acting his career at the age of 20 after his first relationship went nowhere. He began professional acting at the age of 25. Once owned a treasured autograph of Spike Milligan . Later, Milligan wrote the Phantom Raspberry Blower of Old London Town for The Two Ronnies (1971), and Jason provided them (which he claims to be a master at).

His first car was a second-hand Ford Zephyr six-saloon with crimped fins and shiny chrome wing mirrors. Changed his last name from White to Jason after there was already a David White in the acting profession. He at first tried David Whitehead but there was one of them too. He settled on Jason from Jason and the Argonauts, something he remembered from primary school. West Side Story is his favorite musical. Has a scar under his eye. Was told he had what it took to make it as a professional actor at the age of 22. A huge fan of The Goon Show, the first time he went to the theatre was to watch a recording of it. A big fan of Dylan Thomas . A big fan of The Prisoner (1967). A big fan of Buddy Holly . Had no formal education. Always likes to set money aside, but admits he's not very good with numbers so his accountants handle his finances - he treats them as friends.

Once, while staying as a guest in Ronnie Barker's house, he got slightly drunk and couldn't sleep; he saw a door and assuming it led to a flat roof, decided to get some fresh air to help him sleep even though he couldn't see a thing beyond the door. He reconsidered after worrying about cutting his feet on any stones. The next morning he found the door led to nowhere but a 30ft drop to a disused mill wheel; Barker had a balcony built to prevent any more near tragedies. Still owns the credit board Phantom Raspberry Blower - David Jason from The Two Ronnies (1971). He's enormously proud of his contribution to "that little moment of comic history". Landed the part of Del Boy in Only Fools and Horses.... (1981) by making fun of director Ray Butt's Cockney accent with a pitch perfect imitation. During a horse riding lesson, the horse stepped on his foot, dislocating two of his toes; his injury was written into a play he was doing where the character had gout. Likes light and bitter beer. A driver used to take him and Ronnie Barker out looking for bric-a-brac.

The more offbeat, the smaller it was, and the further away it was, the more Barker liked the shop. A friend of Darth Vader actor David Prowse since the beginning of his TV career. Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor were the biggest stars Jason ever worked with in his shortlived film career. Ronnie Barker's decision to retire at the age of 59 disappointed Jason but he respected his decision. He used to get poetry sent to him from Ronnie Barker . Barker was constantly playing with words and was very quick at composing verses. Ronnie Barker's nickname for Jason on Open All Hours (1973) was little feed. Jason claimed he was there to be Barker's stooge, and was frustrated when episodes ran long and his part had to be edited down just to feed Barker. Plays the trombone. For The Wind in the Willows (1984), Cosgrove Hall wanted Jason to play Ratty but he preferred Mr Toad. Everyone who had voiced Toad had made him unpleasant, but Jason made him into a lovable showoff. After Jason recorded an audition, he got the part. Has done two sex scenes in his career. Allergic to pollen.

Got his big break in television at the age of 27 on Do Not Adjust Your Set (1967). Much of his early acting career involved physical comedy, but not much acting. He was afraid of becoming typecast as a comic actor. The first time he went abroad was to Switzerland for a skiing holiday in 1970. Became a big fan of the Bonzos after hearing "I'm the Urban Spaceman". A big fan of Laurel and Hardy. Began working in radio in 1970. Lost the part of Corporal Jones in Dad's Army (1968) (to his chagrin) when the original choice became available after his show was canceled by the BBC and was offered Corporal Jones as compensation. His first big West End role was in No Sex Please - We're British at the Strand in 1973, but his professional debut was in a Noël Coward production. He did No Sex Please - We're British for 18 months, six nights a week with two nights off for illness. After it was over, he was given a lighter and an engraved hollowed brick that he uses as a pen holder.

Can do voices and impressions, including Tony Benn , Julian Clary and John Wayne . A big fan of Buster Keaton , he always tried to channel him whenever doing his own stunts. Wanted to work with Ronnie Barker years before Open All Hours (1973). He believed it profoundly affected the course of his life. He always considered him a mentor whenever they worked together. He never understood why Barker left ITV for the BBC because he wasn't in the know. He considered working with Barker on an entire series a dream outcome. The two became close friends. He claimed Barker was very wise and if he thought something was OK, that was good enough. Close friends with animator Brian Cosgrove , he's also a big fan of cartoons. Jason didn't know that Penfold from Danger Mouse (1981) was a hamster until a chagrined Cosgrove told him. Jason read for Dangermouse and Penfold, and Cosgrove almost named the character Supermouse. Of all the work he did with Cosgrove Hall, he considered The Wind in the Willows (1984) classic, successful and the most exciting.

He loved the cast Cosgrove had managed to assemble, and said he was deeply dedicated to his craft. Has size 7 feet. Friend of the late Bob Monkhouse . They used to like winding each other up. Monkhouse wanted to do a silent movie with Jason but his workload kept him busy. They both hail from Weston-Super-Mare. A huge fan of Alistair Sim ever since he saw him in A Christmas Carol (1951). Jason considers Sim the definitive Scrooge. He kept some of Del Boy's shirts and sweaters after Only Fools and Horses.... (1981) was finished. It would have felt wrong to throw them away. When the pilot episode of Only Fools and Horses.... (1981) went through a chaotic production, including going through three directors at one point, Jason privately felt the BBC were trying to sabotage the show. Del Boy's core business in Only Fools and Horses.... (1981) is fly-pitching, although it was rarely seen. Jason loved doing the patter, the banter and the rhythm. He learned about fly-pitching from watching illegal street traders when he was living in London and doing theatre work.

It was good research, and all his fly-pitching scenes were ad-libbed. While waiting to do some gliding, somebody spotted him, and that led to people with cameras and their kids and even their dogs posing beside the glider, while he was strapped in, embarrassed and frustrated with this unwanted attention. It put him off gliding. Nicholas Lyndhurst was also recognized but he just wore a baseball cap in public with the brim pulled down, and that worked for him. When they were recognized, people would yell lines at them from Only Fools and Horses.... (1981), particularly Lyndhurst. Once, he and Nicholas Lyndhurst brought a bag full of bangers into rehearsals on Only Fools and Horses.... (1981); they loaded stacked chairs with them and the cubicle doors in the toilets. When production assistant Tony Dow unstacked the chairs, they went off, making him afraid to touch them. Jason and Lyndhurst thought it funny until a cleaning lady tried to mop the gents and nearly died of fright. They never pulled that prank again. When he was first handed the script for the pilot episode of Only Fools and Horses....

(1981), Del Boy was the character that jumped out at him. He was expected to play Grandad but he had his heart set on Del, even though the show' creator and writer John Sullivan felt he was wrong for the part; Sullivan envisioned Del a winner, whereas Jason was known for playing life's losers. He could forget lines he knew the night before. Owns a house in the countryside to live but keeps a flat in London whenever he's working. The BBC weren't sure about casting him in the lead for Only Fools and Horses.... (1981) initially because he and Nicholas Lyndhurst looked nothing alike; John Sullivan disagreed. Del Boy needed to be shorter to remove any sense of physical intimidation between the brothers, and to imply the suspected illegitimacy of the Trotters. The famous scene from Only Fools and Horses.... (1981) where Del Boy fell through the open bar flap derived from John Sullivan watching the exact same thing happen to a man in a wine bar, except he grabbed onto the fixed part of the bar so he didn't fall right over. Sullivan thought it funny for the man's body language, trying to recover his cool.

Sullivan wanted a slip, stumble and a tree like fall; Jason thought Del should go all the way over - start to go sideways, and than go over without looking in the direction of the fall, which Jason thought was the key to the scene. There was a hidden crash mat, but it was a hard shot to get because it was hard not to look where Jason was falling; Jason had done a number of falls in the theatre so that came in handy. Just as funny was Trigger's baffled reaction to Del's sudden disappearance. Jason gets people asking him about that fall all the time, and some never like to talk about anything else, but he's happy to be remembered for something so iconic. He only ever called in sick once during an episode of Only Fools and Horses.... (1981) for A Royal Flush. He lost his voice and needed three days to recover, putting it behind schedule. Did Only Fools and Horses.... (1981) and Open All Hours (1973) concurrently with occasional theatre work. In 1989, after the end of the sixth series of Only Fools and Horses....

(1981), he won a BAFTA award for Best Comedy Performance. He put the award on his mantelpiece, next to the one for Best Actor he had already. Always before a live studio recording of Only Fools and Horses.... (1981), he and Nicholas Lyndhurst used to go to the canteen and have the same meal, almost like a ritual or a superstition, because they used to get so nervous. Went on a tribute show to mark the BBC Television Centre's closing in 2012, as well as Ronnie Corbett , Miranda Hart and John Cleese . Filming on the fourth series of Only Fools and Horses.... (1981) began in February, 1984. Jason and Nicholas Lyndhurst were in makeup when a distraught Ray Butt came in to tell them Lennard Pearce had died over the weekend of a heart attack; his body at the foot of a flight of stairs. Jason and Lyndhurst were shocked and speechless and filming was canceled. Pearce had not been a well man, he was a heavy smoker even on the job. Pearce's funeral was several days later; a small and humble affair.

Pearce didn't have much in the way of family; his landlady and her daughter were the closest people to him, but the cast mourned him like losing a family member. On November 24th, 1986 Only Fools and Horses.... (1981) was honored with a slot at the Royal Variety Performance, something that excited the whole crew; Jason, Nicholas Lyndhurst and John Sullivan thought about either re-doing a bit from an old script, or from the current one, A Royal Flush, which was filming on the Dorset Coast, that year's Christmas special. Sullivan opted for something new, a four-minute sketch Jason described as really neat. Del Boy, Rodney and Uncle Albert have a consignment of knock-off whiskey bottles, and mixed up meeting at a nightclub with the stage of the Theatre Royal, in the presence of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother . Jason, Lyndhurst and Buster Merryfield rehearsed it to within an inch of their lives. It was a scene they didn't want to screw up. The tight schedule forced them to drive up from Dorset on the day of the show.

There were so many acts at the Royal Variety Performance that the dressing rooms of the Theatre Royal couldn't house them. Watching the other acts from CCTV in their dressing room, they were the only ones doing something original, something that made them very nervous. They needn't have worried; the show was a success. At the end of the sketch, Del sees the Queen Mother and mistakes her for they're employer. When she waved back, Jason almost dried, because he was not expecting that. When they later met her, she said thank you; he was deeply touched, for five seconds when she said the exact same thing in the exact same tone to everyone else in the line. They then immediately went back to Dorset to finish A Royal Flush; they settled their adrenalin with bottles of whiskey and water, except for Merryfield who never drank. Because of the tight schedule, Jason didn't have the time to talk to his close friend, Bob Monkhouse , who was a guest at the Royal Variety Performance that night. Jason said it was a lovely interlude. Buster Merryfield used to get nervous during his early days on Only Fools and Horses....

(1981) and would often crash into the audience (deliver his lines without waiting for the laughter to die down), meaning his scenes had to be re-recorded. He would also dry up and lose his words and it got to him. Jason and Nicholas Lyndhurst used to sit him down for a talk when he worried he wouldn't last. If they ever made mistakes in the middle of a recording, they would blame someone and make it into a joke. If the audience felt the actors didn't care, they would relax and feel part of the joke. After that, Merryfield cracked his problem, relaxed into the show and the new partnership and became the lovable Uncle Albert. Before the start of the sixth series of Only Fools and Horses.... (1981), Jason was annoyed about something and went to see John Sullivan . Sullivan was writing terrific scripts that were too long and had to be edited down to 30 minutes. Jason felt they were cutting more funny material than most sitcoms manage in a full episode. One edit that had particularly vexed Jason was during the Series 5 episode Tea For Three.

After Del Boy returned from a disastrous hang-gliding session, he originally had a speech Jason described as "beautifully constructed, full of suppressed rage" about all of the places Del had visited. Jason considered it a comic masterpiece, but because the episode had overrun, half the speech got cut. Sullivan agreed with Jason that the episodes needed to be longer. Jason and Sullivan approached Gareth Gwenlan while he was producing Series 6 with the plan to extend the episodes from 30 to 50 minutes. Gwenlan didn't think that was possible since sitcoms were traditionally 30 minutes in length, and couldn't sustain a longer running time. Jason said that would be true of an average writer, but not one of Sullivan's caliber. And yet they still keep cutting great material. Gwenlan than okayed the idea. Close friends with his Only Fools and Horses.... (1981) co-star Nicholas Lyndhurst . He liked to call Lyndhurst Nick. They struck up an instant rapport in a motor-home while waiting to film any location shoots, and would mess about at every opportunity. They used to play pranks on the set, e.g.

pretending to have fallen out to worry the crew, or nailing Lennard Pearce's shoes to the floor or turning his costume inside out. Although Pearce mostly saw the funny side of things, that day he refused to work until director Ray Butt talked him around and Jason and Lyndhurst apologized. Jason claimed it was the only time Pearce lost perspective. Yorkshire Television wanted Jason to play Pop Larkin in The Darling Buds of May (1991). He admitted he was amazed the show went on to be a national, award-winning success. He had never read the book so went away and did so before accepting the part; he pronounced it a charming read, as well as lovely, but not much happened and didn't go anywhere. But the characters were strong, especially Pop Larkin, and he would be fun to play. Jason's condition was to shoot the series on film, because he didn't want it to be a studio production. At least on film, it would look good and have some quality about it, even if nothing happened. Owns two two-seater sports cars. Ronnie Barker and John Sullivan attended his 50th birthday party; they parked their cars in neighboring drives and roads so as not to spoil the surprise.

On the birthday cake in icing was the scene from Only Fools and Horses.... (1981) where Del Boy and Rodney end up with blowup dolls. Jason's wife thought it in poor taste and Jason saw her point, but he considered the baker an artist with the marzipan. Barker delivered a speech at the party, and Jason said it was a lovely, high-spirited evening, and the nicest of surprises, but he wasn't surprised though, because all the lights were off when he came home - something his wife never did. In 2011, Catherine Zeta-Jones , his co-star from The Darling Buds of May (1991) invited him to a rented house in Richmond to have Sunday lunch with her and her husband Michael Douglas . It was the first time Jason had seen Jones since she had wed Douglas; they had rented a magnificent property and Douglas was in the pool playing with their sons. Douglas thanked Jason for being generous with Jones and looking after her on the set of the series. Jason was pleased he thought so. On The Darling Buds of May (1991), there was a famous scene where Jason shared a bath with Pam Ferris while eating supper.

Jason thought about turning up to the set in a frog mask and flippers but couldn't go through with it. Jason and Ferris both wore swimming costumes and the water was colored up to protect their modesty's. Jason considered that scene their icebreaker. When Jason was cast as Detective Inspector Jack Frost, the character had to be cleaned up from the books, where Frost was a chain smoker, but Jason recently gave up smoking. He used to smoke four or five cigarettes a day, or in the evening with a drink, and didn't want to start again, and smoking was taboo on TV in 1992. In the early days of The Darling Buds of May (1991), Catherine Zeta-Jones was very nervous due to her lack of experience with television. Jason used to advise her to keep her eyes still while doing dialogue in closeup, something he used to do. All location shoots for The Darling Buds of May (1991) were done in and around Kent in glorious Summer weather. The house had an outhouse and a Tudor barn attached. The interiors were done in the studio in Yorkshire. Jason felt the genius of the show was blending footage from two different sources.

Jason grew a mustache for the role of Detective Inspector Jack Frost; it was his idea as he imagined Frost grew one in his youth to give himself a few extra years and more maturity. He lost the mustache between series to play other parts and than needed four weeks to grow it back as well as stop shaving at the right time ahead of shooting. Sometimes Jason missed the mark and had to help it along with a bit of "coloring-in", but it was always ready for filming. Jason put on weight when playing Pop Larkin in The Darling Buds of May (1991). It was because of all the food in the show; bread and ham, cheese, pickled onions, roast dinners, chocolate, etc. It was meant to show the Larkin family's generous spirit and carefree love of life. There were also fried breakfasts cooked fresh on the set on a little stove. One day on the set, the shooting schedule meant Jason sat down to breakfast five times, which meant it was piled with bacon and eggs. Jason asked if he could skip the fry-ups, so they switched to kippers, which was just as bad.

The extra weight he put on meant he couldn't wear a dinner jacket to that year's BAFTA's that fit the year before. He had to go on a few months of dieting to regain his former, "sylph-like" weight. A Touch of Frost (1992) also had a tough food regime that was hard on Jason's stomach, because Frost wasn't a healthy eater, e.g. bacon sandwiches, chips, fry-ups, etc. People used to remark on it to Jason, that he was eating badly. On The Darling Buds of May (1991), Jason once smuggled a cucumber into a bed scene with Pam Ferris . She had to deliver most of the dialogue and even though she knew it was there, she did the scene perfectly. It was only after the cameras stopped rolling that she wanted to know what the corpsing Jason was up to. Ferris is known for being very professional. When Barry Gibb made a cameo in an episode of Only Fools and Horses.... (1981) set in Miami, he invited David Jason and Nicholas Lyndhurst into his house, gave them tea and showed them around.

Gibb was a big fan of the show and used to get tapes of it sent to America. Jason was never asked if he wanted to pursue a personal project until the end of The Darling Buds of May (1991). He decided he wanted to play a detective, which culminated in A Touch of Frost (1992). Before he got the role, five books, all crime fictions in different areas by different authors were posted to him. Jason took them on holiday to Florida and read them over the next fortnight by the pool. Before Jason settled on Detective Inspector Jack Frost, he considered a Sherlock Holmes type detective because it was different from anything else he had done. Jason called from Florida saying he wanted Frost. Knows how to milk cows, which came in handy when playing farmer Pop Larkin in The Darling Buds of May (1991). Owns a house in Buckinghamshire. Neither Jason nor Tessa Peake-Jones were parents during the episode of Only Fools and Horses.... (1981) when Raquel gave birth to Damien, so to make the scene realistic, they took advice from midwives at the West Middlesex Hospital while filming the scene.

John Sullivan and Gareth Gwenlan approached Jason in 2011 with Del Boy coming back at 65 and what had become of everyone from Only Fools and Horses.... (1981). But two weeks later, Gwenlan phoned Jason saying Sullivan was in intensive care with viral pneumonia. He seemed on the mend, and got to leave hospital and go home at one point, but he had a relapse and went back to hospital and died not long after. After the studio recording of Time on our Hands, the last episode of Only Fools and Horses.... (1981), the cast got a standing ovation longer than any Jason had heard; it just went on and on and on. Nicholas Lyndhurst , Buster Merryfield and all the "fantastic cast" were joined by John Sullivan and they had a group hug on he set, all of them in tears. Nicholas Lyndhurst couldn't attend Jason's after party for fifty people during his knighting ceremony in 2005 but John Sullivan did as well as Brian Cosgrove ; Jason took the opportunity to announce his second wedding, to rapturous applause and table thumping.

When alone in a caravan on a film shoot for A Touch of Frost (1992), Jason turned it into a workshop, making models from plastic kits, or during the evening to relax. He liked to build ships and planes which than developed into rockets and than launchable rockets between two and five feet tall, with an engine and an explosive component that could fly between 500 and 900ft in the air; Jason liked the rockets best because you could get a performance out of them. Jason assembled them with tools packed in an old makeup case and from specialist parts from obscure sources across Yorkshire. Jason launched them for cast and crew at the back of Leeds Hospital for three years when they filmed in the mortuary; sometimes to great acclaim, sometimes not. Jason later built a launch pad from an old lighting stand and added a launcher with a key, lights and a 2-tone alarm. They were the campest thing you had ever seen in your life. The masterpiece was a Saturn V replica with one of the biggest engines so it was a complex build. It launched like the real thing by hovering above the pad and set off into the sky.

Jason liked launching that one most, especially when they came back, which was never a sure thing, with a parachute that emerged from the nose cone. After constant use, it failed to launch at all, and was reluctantly retired. On The Royal Bodyguard (2011), the series had an armorer who looked after all the weaponry. He along with his platoon in Afghanistan watched The Jolly Boys Outing, an episode of Only Fools and Horses.... (1981) to cheer themselves up, and it did. Jason was staggered and moved. Filming A Touch of Frost (1992) meant spending a lot of time away from home, at the studios in Leeds or on location in Wetherby, Harrogate, Dewsbury and all local stations. Yorkshire Television made it easy on Jason by renting out a cottage rather than pay for a hotel, especially since Jason could cook for himself; he just wanted somewhere simple to go at the end of the day to clear his head. Yorkshire Television found Jason an old farmer's cottage without central heating, so he had to light a fire; on warm evenings he sat out in the garden which was always a pleasure.

When asked did he get lonely, he said he didn't, because he enjoyed the quiet time. He also had his own driver, on call 24hrs a day, who collected Jason from Buckinghamshire for the 3hr drive to Yorkshire while he worked on his scripts, stopping along the way for a bacon and egg roll and a cup of tea ("a very Frost-like meal"). Jason lived in a spartan farm cottage while the cast stayed at a hotel. Jason liked the darkness of A Touch of Frost (1992) after the lightness of Only Fools and Horses.... (1981) and The Darling Buds of May (1991) because it showed audiences he could play both, but lightness became a part of Frost too. Didn't name his son David so things wouldn't get complicated around the house. Jason got a letter from someone saying they saw a house on the market identical to Toad Hall from The Wind in the Willows (1984); it was three miles from Jason's house. He went looking for it and found it. He said it was wonderful and seemed to go on forever, it even had a lake, fed by its own spring.

It wasn't Toad Hall, but he could imagine living in it. It was twice the value of the house he owned then. He thought about it but had to pay full price when he lost a coin toss (despite his reputation as a wheeler-dealer). But just driving up to the house made him realize how much he wanted it. Behind the cottage where Jason lives is the River Taff and a grassy mountain where he can have a think about things. It has a wonderful view. Used to go to a hotel periodically for seminars to go through scripts, plot developments and story ideas for A Touch of Frost (1992). In September, 2008 a press release went out about Detective Inspector Jack Frost's retirement. Not because of lack of storylines or Jason losing interest in the character (he would have happily played him forever). The problem was Jason's age: at 68, Jack Frost was the oldest copper on the force. He would have retired ten years before or sooner, so he bowed out.

When his daughter Sophie-Mae was born (named after the girl from The BFG, where Jason voiced the title character in the movie), he thought about doing what Del Boy did when Damien was born from Only Fools and Horses.... (1981) but didn't. Once, Jason went to Wimbledon and in the front row was Jack Nicholson . Jason expected all the attention to be on Nicholson, but he wound up getting more attention and the people around him told them to leave him alone. Jason suspected that because Nicholson was the bigger star was ironically the reason he didn't get all the attention, because they were more intimidated by him than the more approachable Jason. Filmed episodes of A Touch of Frost (1992) with Christmas Specials of Only Fools and Horses.... (1981) concurrently in 1996. Former PM Tony Blair sent a letter to Jason asking if he would like to become a knight bachelor. Jason suspected a prank, considering it may have been Brian Cosgrove who hired Jason to play Dangermouse, Count Duckula, Mr Toad and the BFG, but the offer was genuine. During the Gulf War, Jason met someone in a pub who worked at RAF Command Headquarters.

He told Jason they race 3-wheel vans against each other, paint them yellow with Trotters Independent Traders down the sides of them, like the van from Only Fools and Horses.... (1981). Jason went down to have a look, but he didn't see a race. Jason, Nicholas Lyndhurst and Buster Merryfield all sent a Trotters van out to Kuwait. They slipped it into a Hercules plane among other stuff on a supply run and when it was unloaded the crew would find the van, filled up with chewing gum, toothpaste, cake and Danger Mouse (1981) and Count Duckula (1988) tapes from Brian Cosgrove with labels saying Debbie Does Dallas and Unzipperdedoodah and all sorts to amuse them. Jason didn't ask for any publicity because he didn't want anyone to think it was just for that, but a private joke between the RAF and the Trotters. The van was put in the hold and covered up with medical supplies and ammunition and flew to Kuwait, where it's discovery brought some light relief. Personal Quotes (454) I've been fascinated by deep sea diving since watching Jacques-Yves Cousteau 's TV programmes as a lad.

Marriage is like throwing yourself into a river when you only wanted a drink of water. I've never ever 'felt my age', whatever that means. I think that there are a lot of people who feel 22 when in fact they're 62, and there are a lot of youngsters out there who behave as if they were four times their age. It's an attitude of mind, isn't it? I've done my fair share of waiting on tables in restaurants, cleaning cars, whatever. I was even an electrician at one time, and I've done my fair bit of decorating, too. But slowly my fortunes changed. It was a long time before TV wanted me - I would have had to commit murder to get a part on the box at one time. Perhaps being a character actor on radio was, in retrospect, the best training I could get. When you had just three and then four channels, I could always find something that was watchable because the standard of TV was much higher. In those days they had so much more money to put into so many less programmes. I feel sorry for ITV, who are finding it difficult because of the recession and lack of advertising and they're in a bit of a spiral.

One thing follows the other, of course, and if you don't have advertising revenue, you can't put it into programmes, so you end up with the shows that will generate the most ads, like The X Factor (2004) and Britain's Got Talent (2007). Personally, I'm not sure if I like those shows, but other people do, so I suppose, from ITV's point of view, it's good programming. But I'm an actor and so of course I want to see TV companies making good dramas. I want that to be a priority. A show like the Only Fools and Horses.... (1981) Christmas special got 24 million viewers, so practically everyone in the country was watching. But of course it's a different world now, with so many channels. And those kind of figures are really difficult to achieve. It doesn't help that channels try to split the audience by putting their best shows head-to-head. Recently the BBC moved Strictly Come Dancing (2004) to compete with The X Factor (2004) which, quite rightly, annoyed a lot of people.

Why play silly buggers with the audience, especially in the case of the BBC, who don't need to do it at all? In the end the motive is just plain power hunger and empire-building and it's unnecessary; it doesn't serve the audience. When I worked with Ronnie Barker , who was very well known himself at the time, I always remember him saying, 'You don't have to be a shit to be a big star, David.' I've always tried to remember that. When we did Only Fools and Horses.... (1981), it was a five-day week. You'd rehearse for four days and record on a Sunday, but it was much more laid back. The Royal Bodyguard (2011) has been extremely intensive. I think that's because today's budgets are so tight, not just at the BBC, but for everybody. It's been really hard work. [on missing out on the part of Corporal Jones in Dad's Army (1968)] Bill Cotton was having drinks with Clive Dunn and hired him. Co-writer/producer David Croft protested. But Cotton said, 'David Jason? Who's he?

Clive Dunn has a much better reputation.' What a blow that was, I tell you. I was bitterly disappointed, but that's showbusiness. Everything I've done has been a pleasure, touch wood. I love my job. Ronnie Barker said to me, 'Aren't we lucky: being paid very well for making ourselves laugh?' John Sullivan 's scripts were always very funny, and cast and crew got on well. You can't convince an audience if you're not enjoying it yourself. The trouble now is we have stand-up comedians who have forgotten about innuendo. In music-hall days, and especially at the BBC, you were never allowed swearwords, so they came up with brilliant wheezes in Beyond Our Ken, The Goon Show and Round the Horne - 'Hello, I'm Jules and this is my friend Sandy'. Everyone knew what it was about and the audience filled in the gaps. Today they push down barriers. Take the 'f' word. It's become commonplace. Stephen Fry - I'm a great fan and think he's clever - puts up a good argument for using all swearwords as a rich part of our language. But he couldn't persuade me.

Language has implications and it's offensive if it's meant to denigrate something or someone. Only Fools had nothing unpleasant, really. I shouldn't be telling you this, but when Del Boy calls Rodney a dipstick, BBC executives thought it was OK because, 'He's so tall and thin, how terribly funny,' so it slipped past. Had they known the cockney rhyming slang they might have taken it out. Comedy is a funny business, which you have to take seriously. It requires a lot of thought, energy and adrenaline, so when you return home you want to calm down, recharge your batteries and not be the life and soul of the party. I'm not perfect, though. Any woman who takes on someone in this business has a bit of a handful. People have high expectations. You enter a room and know they're thinking, 'He'll be funny,' and you go, 'Leave it out, love. I'm having a day off.' You then become a disappointment. The most important thing for me is that I can sit back and watch it with my ten-year-old daughter, Sophie, without thinking, 'Whoops, why did they say that?

Oh blimey' - and then unable get to the 'off ' knob fast enough. I try to protect what she sees on television, but you can't. Take the adverts: I was watching SpongeBob, a favourite cartoon of ours, but suddenly a scent advert came on with this girl stripping off as she walks towards the camera. It's done for mums but they forget a lot of girls are watching these powerful images. There wasn't much on telly the other night so with Sophie and her friend we watched Laurel and Hardy, made in the 1930s, and these kids laughed like drains. That's humour - doing what funny people have done since comedy began without being edgy and pushing boundaries. [on amateur theatre] This was where I cut my teeth - the first stages of my acting journey. [on his first job center interview] The whole setup felt fantastically, bowel-liquidisingly intimidating to me. When asked what kind of thing do you have in mind for yourself, my answer was I don't know. Hell hath no fury like a man spurned and on a motorbike.

[on needing stitches several times as a boy] I probably only needed to go one more time to qualify for my own set of needles. [on the late 1950s] A period I remember with great affection. My life seemed to be coming together in this period, or settling into a rhythm. [on failing his first audition] It was dead man walking - one of the longest walks I'll ever make. I felt about as foolish as I have ever felt. I was a person who rather liked his home comforts. Learning wasn't really my thing, and it was fairly clear from an early stage that I would be unlikely to be troubling the scorers at Oxford. Many of the world's leading film stars are shorties, mentioning no Tom Cruises. I was going to do the unsteady thing. I was going to become an actor. The real dream for me was acting. I felt time creeping on. I couldn't bear the idea of getting to 35 and not having given it a shot - and then maybe living with the regret and the sense of what if for the rest of my life.

The self-taught among us have our own particularly strong strain of the common actors' virus - and somehow no amount of success and acclaim ever quite squeezes it out of you. [on his first audition] My tongue had taken on the thickness of a can of Spam.

Question: By what name is actor and comedian Sir David John White better known?
Answer: David Jason